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Socioeconomic Achievement Among Arab Immigrants in the USA: the Influence of Region of Origin and Gender

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Socioeconomic Achievement Among Arab Immigrants in the USA: the Influence of Region of Origin and Gender Int. Migration & Integration (2018) 19:111–127 DOI 10.1007/s12134-017-0524-2 Socioeconomic Achievement Among Arab Immigrants in the USA: The Influence of Region of Origin and Gender Abdi M. Kusow1 & Kristine J. Ajrouch2 & Mamadi Corra3 Published online: 3 November 2017 # Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2017 Abstract Based on the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) data derived from 2001–2013 samples of the American Community Surveys, we examine the impact of region of origin and gender on socioeconomic achievement variation among Arab immigrants in the USA. Region of origin includes North Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Sudan), Levant (Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq), and the Arabian Peninsula (Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen). This examination is particularly important given the prevailing scholarly consensus that Arab immigrants are collectively portrayed as socioeconomically suc- cessful. Our analyses suggest two key findings. First, we find that region of origin is not a consistent predictor of earnings. While Arab immigrants from North Africa earned significantly less than those from the Levant, this was only true for males. No significant effect is found for region of origin in all other comparisons (both overall and when the analysis is restricted to males or females). Second, and by contrast, gender, net of other variables is a powerful predictor of earnings (both within regions and across regions). Keywords Arab immigrants . Earnings . Gender. Socioeconomic achievement . Intra-Arab comparison Immigration scholarship has increasingly noted significance of both region of origin (Read and Emmerson 2005; Kusow et al. 2016) and gender (Hondagneu-Sotelo 1999; Kanaiaupuni 2000;Lee2013) to patterns of incorporation. As a result, new direction in ethnic research includes delving into within-group investigations. It is now recognized * Abdi M. Kusow [email protected] 1 Department of Sociology, Iowa State University, 220 East Hall, Ames, IA 50010, USA 2 Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI, USA 3 East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA 112 Kusow A.M. et al. that pan-ethnic terms mask important differences among and between members of a given group. For example, a within-group focus on African immigrants reveals impor- tant regional patterns in socioeconomic success (Kusow et al. 2014) as well as health (Read and Emmerson 2005). Additionally, Zsembik and Fennell (2005) argue national origin distinctions are important among Latinos; the influence of SES and acculturation vary in their association with various outcomes depending on whether origins are Mexican or Caribbean. The pan-ethnic category of Arab American is a recently notable group about whom little population-level data exist. This group of immigrants is quite diverse in terms of national origins, history, immigration, and religion (Salari 2002; Samhan 2014). As such, an important way to examine variations in socioeconomic achievement among the Arab American population in the USA is to carry out an intra- group comparison. Unpacking pan-ethnic categories in immigrant studies also benefits from examining the effect of gender on incorporation in host societies. Gender patterns in socioeco- nomic achievement among Arab immigrants, for example, show women have high levels of educational attainment and low fertility rates but relatively low rates of employment (Read 2004). Yet, understanding women’s experiences in the context of their male counterparts may especially illuminate gender patterns in consequences of migration (Kanaiaupuni 2000). This study examines how well conventional indicators of income achievement among immigrants vary by region of origin and gender among Arab immigrants. Background The Arab American pan-ethnic identity goes back to the 1970s (Abdelhady 2014) and, according to some scholars, has its origin in the rise of political conscious- ness among Arab immigrants and native Arab Americans as a result of global political dynamics (Abraham 1994; Cainker 2006; Suleiman 1999). It is now widely used to define those individuals who trace their ancestry to an Arabic- speaking country (Nasser-McMillan et al. 2014; Dallo et al. 2009;Samhan1999; Suleiman 1999) and includes diverse national origins spanning Africa and Western Asia. Contrary to the concept of Asian American pan-ethnicity (Espiritu 1992), which has no real internal cohesion or validity relating to Asia, the category of Arab American has internal relevance to those who came from the Arab world. This relevance stems from the existence of political entities such as the Arab League and historical tensions around pan-Arab nationalism (Kramer 1993), as well as recent developments including a media revolution spawned by technolog- ical and digital advancements that have ultimately Breawakened regional Arab consciousness^ (Pintak 2009:191).Basedonpoliticalandhistoricalworks,Arab lands may be roughly categorized as follows: North Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Sudan), Levant (Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq—even though Pales- tine is geographically part of the Levant, we exclude it for data limitation reasons), and the Arabian Peninsula (Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen). Most scholarly work on Arab immigration and incorporation, however, has and on those from the Levant (Ajrouch 2004;Naff1985;Suleiman 1999). At the political level, Arab immigrants in the USA may report Socioeconomic Achievement Among Arab Immigrants in the USA: the... 113 unique identities based on national origin, religion, and ethnic affiliation (Samhan 2014), yet share similar experiences in terms of global relations, conflict, and war (Cainkar 2009). Though the Arab American socioeconomic profile suggests enor- mous success in general (Nigem 1986), there nevertheless exists pockets of disadvantaged, poverty-stricken Arab Americans (Read 2004, 2013). Some of the differences in poverty levels and variations in socioeconomic achievement among Arab immigrants from different regions may be related to the different social and political contexts that inform emigration and the context of reception in host communities. We know, for example, that the motives of immigration among Iraqi immigrants is fundamentally different from Yemeni immigrants, political in the former and economic in the latter, a context which has been shown to affect levels of economic success and educational achievement among immigrants in the USA (Pedraza-Bailey 1985). Documented immigration to the USA from Arab countries began at the turn of the twentieth century (Gualtieri 2001;Naff1985;Orfalea1988). Most who have researched and written on Arab immigration describe two or three waves. The first wave of Arab emigration to the USA commenced during the early 1900s (Naff 1985;Orfalea1988). The majority were of the Christian faith, originating from the Levant, or modern-day Syria and Lebanon. Most were illiterate, yet strived to adapt to the American way of life (Orfalea 1988). By 1924, Arab emigration halted due to laws decreed by the US government—the passage of the National Origins Act, which established a quota system that set limits on immigration from Southern and Eastern Europeans and totally excluded Asians, including Arabs, from immigration. The second wave of Arab emigration began when US immi- gration policies changed in the middle of the twentieth century and represented a markedly different group. They were more educated, more financially adept, and left their home countries due to political disputes and all-out warfare (Abu-Laban 1991;Orfalea1988; Zogby 1990). In addition, 60% of these Arab immigrants were Muslim. Orfalea (1988) states that although these first and second wave immigrants attended the same churches and mosques, they did not socialize with one another much. That all changed, however, beginning with the Israeli-Arab war in 1967, followed by wars in 1972 and 1982. Scholars argue that it is these wars that ignited a third wave of Arab immigration (Orfalea 1988; Abu-Laban 1991). The third wave was three times larger than the previous wave due to loosened immigration laws and political upheavals in the region. Continuing instabilities in the Arab region have been a factor in the near constant stream of Arabic-speaking immigrants arriving since 1967. Though immigrants from the Levant continued to enter the USA, sending countries from the Arab world widened to also include North Africa as well as the Arabian Peninsula (Cainkar 2009; Sirkeci 2005). In sum, immigration from Arabic-speaking countries since 1965 has been constant. Though the push and pull factors changed through the waves, migration was often set in motion due to political unrest within the most recent wave. An obvious, but seldom- discussed gap is the paucity of information on the immigrant Arab female experience. No data exists to document reasons for Arab women’s migration. Nevertheless, Arab women are indeed present in the US context and play key roles in Arab immigrant incorporation (Ajrouch 2004). Women’s participation in the world of work varies by region due to difference in socioeconomic development (Moghadam 2004). Those in North Africa and the Levant are more likely and those in the Arabian Peninsula are less 114 Kusow A.M. et al. likely to work outside the home (Sidani 2005). In the section to immediately follow, we consider region and gender as key factors influencing immigrant earnings and socio- economic achievement among Arab immigrants in the USA. Region
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